Engaging in Conversation Doesn't Grow Reach [Infographic]

While I know "engaging in the conversation" has applications for customer service and retention as well as public relations, it turns my stomach every time I hear someone talk about it as marketing advice.

So I've been conducting research for a few months now for our upcoming
Science of Social Media webinar
, and what I've found ultimately debunks myths about engaging in conversation and its effect on social media reach.

Basically, "engaging in the conversation" does not increase your reach in social media, and here's the data that backs me up.

How do you feel about this data? Does it change your outlook on social media engagement?

Thanks for the infograph - but what are you saying? Participating on social media doesn't increase reach? I know myself that if I comment on a blog post - I am more likely to share that link via Twitter or FB to try and get others to view and indeed to engage in a discussion. What you are suggesting by the 'comments don't improve impressions' - is that no one else is sharing the link to generate more traction to that post / comment? I am not really sure what you're demonstrating here? Please share insight. Sceptical from the UK!

Interesting work Dan. I applaud the information that comes from Hubspot. My only caution to you is this: Be careful about your assumptions while studying something that hasn't matured. It's like studying Amazon.com in the 90's. The conclusions were based consumer behaviors that weren't mature and the finding were less than solid. Amazon was smart not to listen then.

I often remind my team and clients that the behaviors we see in Social today are not what the behaviors will look like over time. We are still years away from reaching maturity. Thanks and I look forward to hearing more about The Science of Social.

So I came to work and read this. Sceptic from the US of A :). I may agree with the blog graph. Blogging is tough to get engaging comments and a discussion going. However, I think Twitter and FB should be used skillfully to target and gauge interest of your audience and does produce results. This post needed a Hubspot signature 'takeaway' after the graphs displayed. It seems that the graphs are showing that our interaction with social media and business isn't holding up.

Jim

First of all appreciate the attempt to quantify....not easy! Seems the which accounts are included in the sample are important.

Is this right interpretation: As there is an increasing numbers of comments/likes on a wall go up the law of diminishing returns starts taking affect. However, I believe over the long term the number (not %) of impressions increase. Right?

Good info for thinking this a.m.

Thanks! @hospitalityfan

Rosa Lu

Blog comments don't lead to more views... I am gonna retweet this blog to my 1000+ fans and mention how I disagree and ask them to check it out.. probably 10% of them will click on the link to this blog. Doesn't that mean that me commenting on this blog led to more views??

I just checked my analytics and social grows reach for me. This isn't a very good infographic if I'm honest and I think the message is inaccurate. If I am engaging with my audience then they probably already visit my site and so that activity doesn't lead to growing reach or increasing traffic. You can engage with blog comments and steer them on to your social networks and when they get there if your tone of voice is to encourage people to share your content with an incentive behind it then I believe that engaging in conversation does grow reach.

Jim

Agree with Rosa...think the issue is the metric being displayed in the third graph: percentages versus numbers. Thoughts?

I'm on the fence here. From my own data, it matches up well. The type of content and timing of when you post things will drive more reach than engagement. However, I don't think that data means that engagement is something you can completely blow off either. You need both.

Wow... wow. As a rinky dink social networker (Social Media Mamapreneur) for businesses (some local, some national), I wholeheartedly disagree with this study. Since the ability to reach out to other businesses AS my clients on FB, and comment on other biz pages activities and engage with them... the "LIKE"s have skyrocketed for all of my clients! It's been FANTASTIC! Truly, I'm left scratching my head and wondering what kind of comments your research used in this case study and why there was no rise in brand awareness.

It's important here to look at the purpose and the expectations of each platform. Sure, more likes and comments might not get more impressions, but that's because Facebook pages are often for brands and businesses, and anyone who follows them do so to learn about updates and sale information for themselves, not for industry insights to share with others.

Similarly, with Twitter, most accounts that have over 1,000 followers have a specific purpose: they are so large, so followed because they supply the industry insights that Facebook is lacking, and people go there to learn things and retweet them. They don't necessarily follow these large companies/brands/celebrities for personal recognition.

While this information is valuable, I don't believe it proves that conversation has no impact on reach.

The science of marketing is only half the story, and reach is only part of the equation. Engagement increases frequency and the impact of the impression. And no, I don't have the numbers to back me up, but my stomach isn't turning :)

Dan Zarrella

"Engagement" and "engaging in the conversation" are two totally different things. And I'm talking about the latter here.

So the real issue here is this: what DOES grow reach? I agree that "engaging in the conversation" is cliche and not supported scientifically. Will you be addressing what does grow reach in your webinar?

Petalyn

I have to say that my experience reflects what you've said. I also find that my circle of friends... personal, professional and peripherally acquainted, most typically tend not to use social media for 'conversation’ per say. In my direct experience social media is a great way to chat one-on-one with a specific client or to post interesting information that people can then chose to open or not... often not. And it is for this reason that I do not advise clients to think of it as a main channel for reach. One should never imagine it can replace other efforts. It is prudent to consider it supplemental to more pertinent forms of ‘reach’ i.e. press releases, newsletters, event-marketing, cause-marketing, special-announcements, relevant (highly useful) resources etc. Having a social media presence is expected nowadays; like having a phone, a Fax and a website was a decade and a half ago when most of us hadn’t conceived of the notion that a website would virtually take the place of the phone and fax altogether. Still social media is making advances that today feels a little like a toddler learning to walk. As far as it has come presently, one has the unshakeable feeling that in 10-20 years none of us will be able to avoid interacting with it and I predict that resembling our surprise when we discover for the first time that so many products we use daily are owned by GE or Johnson & Johnson (for example), we will find ourselves daunted by the invisible ways in which social media will influence/control our lives even to a degree that most of us will remain unaware.

You've all been sucked in by the classic 'provocation' blog strategy. Of course it works! Admittedly, the comments area on Hubspot is just about the ugliest on the web, but don't we all get a click or two as a result of commenting and sharing?

Renee hit the nail on the head. It's like me writing a blog post and saying.."nlogging is dead". Come listen to me talk about it. First off, blogging is not dead, just that many that start blogs, stop within a 3 to 6 month time period.

In this case, I would disagree with a lot of the info supplied. As much as I repsect HubSpot, this is either not accurate, a ploy to get us to the seminar with reverse pyschology.. or we are just missing the message.. missing the point.

I get the main point that many of my friends on facebook, from HS, from college, from work.. etc, etc.. might not fit the mold. But I think if you engage, engage properly, that even my friends will sometimes pass my info along. Such as "liking" my post on facebook and or comments, which places my post more at the top... that more get to see it. I have a friend that told me..."Jeff, your posts are always appearing at the top of my stream on FB. Or for the fact that if I link a blog post of mine on FB, that others tend to like and share it.. and tweet it. Are my numbers thousands of likes? No.. but even if 10 liked it and then shared it.. others will see it, possible bring more over to read what I had to say or wrote about.

Petalyn above said this... "

I have to say that my experience reflects what you've said. I also find that my circle of friends... personal, professional and peripherally acquainted, most typically tend not to use social media for 'conversation’ per say."

Petalyn agrees with the author above. But one #failed piece. If you don't properly engage, they won't comment. ps.. in my opinion, if they are even on Facebook, and using 10%, aren't they being social? Using social media in a way? I say yes... I could say much more on this topic.. but will just sit back and watch now.. Thanks

I won't get into whether or not the data is correct or makes sense, but take on face value engagement does not increase the number (quantitative) views. But is there research on its affect on building loyalty (qualitative) and return customers? If I can build strong, loyal customers through inviting users to comment on posts and spread the word -- make them feel like a part of something -- then THAT is valuable.

I appreciate the time you spent to make the graph and gather the data. It just seems to conflict with my experiences. On the rare occasion that I have something to say that others comment on or retweet etc. My traffic goes up, my rankings for that page (if there is one) mentioned go up. Sometime just by the increase in rankings my traffic goes up. Moving a phrase from the of page 2 the bottom of page 1 can make a big difference in a highly sought after KW. Thank you again.

Lee

Dan is again slaying the dragons of conventional wisdom. It is always great to see data - regardless of the direction it takes us. The truth is better for all of our businesses. Thanks for sharing!

Jeff Belonger

Comment about me, saying that it's great to see data.. that the truth is better for us. I agree, but... what if the data is wrong, misleading... calculated from some that it doesn't work well with aka the right sources. As you can see, many of us have different data... that we get many many impressions, etc, etc.. there are some things that I agree with. Twitter accounts with many many followers usually converse less. But not all... and define many. But if my wall posts on facebook are seen over and over because they have been 'liked' a lot and commented on a lot, it will be seen on more people's walls at the top. To me, that is an impression. And yes, there is more to it... But my main point, "not all data leads to the truth." Someone could do specific studies at the wrong time... or miss a key element. People's real numbers is what can speak high volumes. #justsayin

Jeff Belonger

Whoops... them sticky fingers again... meant to say, the comment above me, not about me... The comment from Lee... thanks